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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: suit · spring · rush · stem · toast · cell · shower · tear

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. tear — to rip
  5. toast — bread
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. spring — of water
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. shower — to wash
  10. suit — to fit
  11. cell — in biology
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cell — a phone
  15. spring — a coil
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. tear — from crying
  18. shower — rain
  19. rush — hurry
  20. suit — clothes
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. suit — in cards
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com